D&D 5E Last bets before final playtest packet release

[Trickster Spirit]

Wasn't there a big hullabaloo over the fact that Mearls had said Kender and Dragonborn would be in the next packet? Or am I misremembering and he had just said they would be in the final game?

 

[Li Shenron]

This seems as good as any spot to put my list of what I think is wrong with the latest playtest pack.

I'm going to comment on the feats: if you took the playtest survey about last packet, you have noticed that they asked for each class if there are enough feats. My answer was a big NO to every class.

Whether they go with the current "macro-feats" implementation or they go back to smaller feats, the whole point of feats is to provide a level of character customization. It requires variety, and that means a large array of feats.

Even in 3.0 with ~60 feats in core, there weren't enough of them IMHO to provide long-term variety, in fact that was one of the reasons why I wanted to buy the first 5 splatbooks of that edition. Unfortunately I think I'll have to do the same in 5e, which I guess is what WotC wants me to but if it was up to me, I'd try to squeeze many more than currently into the first PHB.

What I'd like to see is a 90% finished Core (which Bruce Cordell said was done) and Standard game I can use for the next 9-18 months as a weekly ruleset.

They've been kind of saying this for a year... IMHO when they say this they are thinking of the combat action economy (which is indeed possibly as simple as it gets), the ability checks (which are the same as ever) and the dis/advantage rules which have been the same since packet 1. Everything else has pretty much changed dramatically across the packets.

 

[tuxgeo]

I guess it will be far less than we want.

At a "Big-concept" level, I want them to rely less on the Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic, because too many things operate that way already, and they don't stack, so it makes having extra abilities pointless to some extent. (If you already get advantage a lot, do you even want to take a feat that would give you advantage? It would probably apply in situations where you would already have advantage, so it would be relatively worthless.)
I doubt that WotC will address that desire: they're trying to pare down the total number of mechanics -- with a potentially worse result, IMHO.

Yeah, Bards, multiclassing, another adventure; maybe some more monsters. That sounds like the kind of thing they'd do.

 

[Warbringer]

I think in one form or another

- bard/warlord/sorcerer
- multiclassing
- inspiration

I'd like to see, as its the last public packet

- workable monster math
- more open backgrounds

Also, Im guessing we actually see this the last week of September based on the comments last week in the streamed playtest

 

[sidonunspa]

I had hoped to have something to read over all weekend..

but I have a bad feeling we are looking to the 20th for the final packet

 

[malcolm_n]

If they give us much more, don't they run the risk of people burning out before the system's actually released? Just curious; I mean we've already been playing for almost 1.5 years anyway.

 

[Weather Report]

-Bard.

-Multiclassing.

-New Subclasses.

-Class Feature tweaks, removals, additions.

-Math tweaks (monster AC, Attacks, etc).

-Removal of Expertise die, replaced by the ability score bonus Mearls mentioned that caps at +6 at 20th level; a 20th level Fighter will get +6 to all Str Attacks/Checks/Saves (so with a 20 Str caps at +11 to hit).


And yeah, has been delayed, might not see it until next month...

 

[Weather Report]

If they give us much more, don't they run the risk of people burning out before the system's actually released? Just curious; I mean we've already been playing for almost 1.5 years anyway.

Yeah, I have worried if they dillydally too long, people will just get more and more entrenched in Osric, PF, 4th Ed, 13th Age, etc, to notice when it finally comes out.

 

[Remathilis]

I want to see an alternate spell system for mage (sorcery, witchcraft, etc) before I'm sold on the "One Class to Cast Them All" concept.

 

[gyor]

They've Already mentioned that they be releasing the Dragonborn, Tiefling, Warforged, and Kinder PC races. We all know about the Bard and Multiclassing, but that means new Subclasses. I also think other classes will get new subclasses, like the poor Paladin. I don't think the Warlock or Sorceror will be revealed sadly I don't believe they're ready for it.

I do think it will be a large packet, this will be thier last packet so anything they want mass feedback on and is in a stage close enough to be released will get a packet. For example Legendary Monsters.

Plus there will be tweeks based on the Playtest survey, aka the reason they pushed it back.

I'm hoping since he mentioned it, hexblade will come out as a fighter subclass same with Shadowdancer for Rogues. Still those might not be ready yet.

I have mentioned that I believe the Blackguard will be a Paladin/Rogue Multiclass subclass which is why it wasn't released in the last packet dispite being a mirror of the Cavalier in the packet before it, and thierfor simple to update once the Cavalier was designed.

I also think Avenger and Favoured Soul may find thier way into the next packet, but I can't say how likely that will be.b